


Flowers In His Hair

by triste



Category: Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle
Genre: Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-21
Updated: 2012-11-21
Packaged: 2017-11-19 05:03:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/569413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/triste/pseuds/triste
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sakura and Kurogane share some daddy-daughter bonding time, much to mommy Fai's delight.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Flowers In His Hair

Title: Flowers in His Hair  
Author: Triste  
Fandom: Tsubasa Chronicle  
Pairing: Fai/Kurogane  
Rating: PG  
Status: Complete  
Disclaimer: Not mine

~~

It was the second time in as many days that Fai had tricked Kurogane into staying at home and babysitting Sakura while he and Syaoran went off to buy supplies, and the ninja was starting to get irritated. Mokona wasn't around for him to take his frustration out on, and he'd already read the latest edition of Maganyan magazine from cover to cover. Kurogane wasn't much of a conversationalist, especially around women, but listening to Sakura twittering about kittens and puppies and rainbows would have been much better than staring at the walls like he was currently doing.

Sakura, as luck would have it, was sound asleep on the couch. Fai had covered her with his coat before leaving, making sure that she was warm and comfortable, and Kurogane had been left behind to guard the slumbering princess from any potential threat, quite positive that boredom would reach him long before the enemy, should one even appear.

Kurogane's attention was drawn back to the couch when Sakura shifted and mumbled something under her breath, but she didn't seem to be having a nightmare, not that Kurogane would have known what kind of action to take if she had. The less he had to do with overemotional females, the better.

Sakura mumbled again and her hands crept out from under Fai's coat, rubbing at her eyes before opening them in confusion. "Kurogane-san?" she said slowly, focusing on him. He gave her a grunt of acknowledgement. "Where are Fai-san and Syaoran-kun?"

"Out," replied Kurogane shortly.

Sakura blinked. "Oh." Then she smiled. "Shall I make some tea?"

"Do whatever you like," Kurogane told her, and Sakura shuffled off into the kitchen. She reappeared a few minutes later carrying a tray, which she set down onto the small table in the middle of the room, kneeling down in front of it and, ever polite, served Kurogane first.

"Here you go," she said, gesturing towards the cup she'd just filled. "Please drink it before it gets cold."

Kurogane moved away from his place by the window and sat cross-legged at the table opposite Sakura, who lifted her own cup to her lips and blew away the steam.

They drank in silence, which suited Kurogane just fine, but he noticed that Sakura kept staring at him shyly and then lowering her gaze again guiltily upon realising she'd been caught. She kept up that pattern for a good five minutes before Kurogane finally put her out of her misery and asked cautiously, "What's wrong?"

Sakura fidgeted, apparently struggling against her own nervousness until she plucked up the courage and blurted out, "Kurogane-san, may I ask a favour?"

Kurogane was even more cautious now, but he responded anyway. "What kind of favour?" he said, hoping fervently that whatever problem Sakura needed his help with didn't relate to talk about marriage and babies or feminine hygiene issues.

"Actually, I've been thinking," said Sakura, slightly crestfallen. "We've been travelling together for a long time now, and I'm always worried about getting in the way or slowing everyone down. I know there isn't much I can do to help, but I still want to try."

Kurogane raised an eyebrow. "And?"

Sakura hesitated and then seemed to reach a decision, smacking her hands down so suddenly that Kurogane jumped in surprise. "Please accept me as your student and teach me how to fight!" she implored.

It was a good thing Kurogane had already finished his tea otherwise he would have choked on it. "Excuse me?" he managed to say weakly.

"I want you to teach me how to fight!" Sakura repeated, determined. "Syaoran-kun has learnt so much from you, and Fai-san says that you're a good instructor. I promise I'll do my very best, so please become my teacher!"

"Princesses don't need to fight," Kurogane replied, unnerved by Sakura's request. "They need to be protected. That's why the kid is there to look out for you."

"But I want to do my part too!" Sakura insisted. "I want to help. I want to *fight*!"

Her mouth was set into a stubborn pout like a child begging to stay up for an extra half hour instead of going off to bed like she'd been told, and Kurogane's first instinct was to refuse.

Sakura, although having already gotten a number of her feathers back, still had a tendency to pass out occasionally and sleep more than necessary. She was considerably more alert than she had been the first time Kurogane had met her, but she was also easily spooked and distracted, which was hardly the right kind of temperament for barging into battle.

Then there was the matter of Sakura's physical constitution. She was a typical teenage girl, a typical princess, in that she was small and frail and delicate and obviously used to a living a pampered life safely behind palace walls. She'd learned many things during their journey but she'd never been through true hardship, nor did Kurogane wish for her to experience it. In short, the only response he could give her was a no, but Sakura was gazing at him with such pleading eyes, clasping her hands together hopefully as if the fate of the world rested on his answer.

If Kurogane upset Sakura, Syaoran would be unhappy, and if Syaoran were unhappy, Fai would be concerned, and if Fai were concerned, Kurogane would be awkward.

Tension within the group was better left avoided, and Kurogane didn't want to admit that he'd developed a certain attachment for their little band of misfits. Then again, he also didn't want any of them actually dying or getting hurt, and he cursed himself for having grown soft without even realising it.

And so, Kurogane did what all good parents do with their children by pretending to let Sakura have her way and reminding himself to later invent an excuse that would enable him to wriggle out of their agreement.

"Fine," he said. "I'll teach you."

Sakura's face lit up like a neon sign and Kurogane felt a stab of regret for leading her on which immediately dissipated when Sakura said eagerly, "Will you show me how to use a sword?"

Kurogane's reply was a very firm "no". He'd seen her twirling around a baton in one of the previous worlds they'd visited, as well as the way she'd repeatedly dropped it onto her head. Allowing her something that was sharp and lethal would only lead to disaster, assuming she even succeeded in picking up the weapon in the first place.

Needless to say, Syaoran and Fai were somewhat confused when they returned to find Kurogane holding his magazine in one hand and his other with its palm facing away from his body as Sakura punched it again and again with her tiny fists, alternatively shouting "yaah!" and "hayaah!" whenever she made contact.

"Oh dear," Fai said mildly. "Have they had a falling out?"

~~

The 'lessons' continued when they landed in the next world, although they proved to be of little use when they all decided to retire for the night. Sakura went into her room only to let loose a blood curdling scream ten seconds later. Kurogane, the closest, sprang into action, kicking the door open and searching around for the attacker but only finding a trembling Sakura.

"Kurogane-san!" she gasped. "Sp...sp...spider!"

Kurogane relaxed his grip on the hilt of his sword when he saw what she was pointing at and, sure enough, a spider was casually crawling its way along the wall. It wasn't even a big spider nor did it look particularly poisonous, but Sakura kept her quivering index finger fixed in its direction.

"It's harmless," Kurogane said, wishing Syaoran had arrived instead of him. "It can't hurt you."

"But I won't be able to sleep if I know it's there," Sakura said in a small voice, and Kurogane sighed as he lifted Sakura's discarded slipper and prepared to crush the princess's unwanted guest.

"No!" cried Sakura, catching Kurogane's arm. "You mustn't kill it!"

"Then what am I supposed to do?" said Kurogane, exasperated.

"Pick it up very gently and release it out of the window," Sakura instructed.

Kurogane, feeling ridiculous, scooped the spider into his hands, opened the window and got ready to throw the creature out.

"Gently!" Sakura reminded him, and Kurogane huffed, carefully lowering the spider onto a nearby branch under Sakura's watchful gaze and shutting the window again securely as Sakura beamed at him in gratitude. "Thank you so much!"

"Call for the kid next time," Kurogane growled, but Sakura's smile didn't diminish in the slightest.

~~

The place Mokona literally dropped them into when they next moved on was a warm, sweet-smelling meadow, and Sakura convinced Syaoran to take a break and let the four of them rest up before beginning their search for feathers and shelter. He and Fai talked quietly among themselves while Sakura collected flowers with Mokona and Kurogane sat a short distance away, outwardly relaxed but inwardly ready to detect any imminent danger.

The sound of Sakura clearing her throat made him open his eyes, and he glanced up to find her standing before him with both hands behind her back. Anyone else in that same stance would have worried Kurogane, but since this was Sakura, he doubted she was hiding anything that would either kill him or (in Fai's case) anything that could be dropped down the back of his shirt.

"I wanted to show my appreciation for all that you've done," explained Sakura. "I know it's not much, but please take this."

Kurogane's moment of confusion gave Sakura plenty of time to place what she'd been keeping hidden on top of his head, which just so happened to be a crown of flowers. They were hideously pink and nearly overpowered him with their sickly sweet scent, but that wasn't the worst of it. Kurogane was a warrior, and a manly one at that. Manly warriors did not walk around wearing girly decorations in their hair, even if those girly decorations had been made by a naive and kindly princess attempting to express her gratitude.

Kurogane moved to rip off his new accessory, but he'd already been spotted.

"Kuro-rin~!" called Fai, waving like a maniac as his eyes glinted with an unholy light. "You look so pretty!"

"Pretty, pretty!" Mokona parroted, and then burst into a fit of hysterical giggles.

"I think Kurogane-san looks very nice," said Sakura, sounding proud of herself. "What do you think, Syaoran-kun?"

Syaoran froze at being put on the spot so cruelly as Mokona continued to hoot in the background and Fai succeeded in sidling up to Kurogane unnoticed. "Um," he said, fishing for something that would please the princess and prevent Kurogane's temper from exploding, so he finished his sentence with, "I think he looks very... unique."

Syaoran was too respectful to state his true opinion, and he was considerate enough to keep his face impressively straight, but Mokona had no such qualms as it stopped laughing long enough to cackle, "He looks like a big girl's blouse!" before resuming its interrupted mirth.

Mokona would have resembled a pancake rather than a meat bun if Kurogane had been able to reach out and squash it but Fai seized the opportunity to pounce, draping himself over Kurogane's back like a substitute cloak and linking his arms around the ninja's neck. "Mommy likes the fact that Daddy looks so good with flowers in his hair!" he declared, rubbing his cheek against Kurogane's. "In fact," he added, his voice lowering seductively, "Mommy is getting turned on by it."

Syaoran quickly took Sakura's hand and scooped up Mokona, tucking it under his cape before Kurogane could order it to spit out his sword. "Let's investigate that part of the meadow, Princess," he said, pointing to a spot that he hoped would be far enough away from Kurogane and Fai that he wouldn't be able to hear or see them and tugging along a very perplexed Sakura.

"Syaoran-kun is such a good boy," Fai said approvingly. "He always knows when to give his parents time alone together."

"You can be alone all by yourself," Kurogane snapped, but his efforts to shrug himself free were in vain.

"Mommy wants to show his appreciation too!" sang Fai, attached as he was to Kurogane like a barnacle to a rock. "Mommy also wants to play the How Long Does It Take to Strip Daddy Naked game!"

"You're not stripping me here!" Kurogane shouted in alarm, but Fai shushed him soothingly.

"You won't be totally nude. You'll still be wearing your flowers."

"They don't count as clothing!"

Fai's approach to Kurogane's protests had always been to turn conveniently deaf and now was no exception as he ignored Kurogane's indignant yelling and wrestled him to the ground with far more strength than his slender frame appeared to possess. Kurogane fought valiantly, but his swearing was music to the mage's ears (or so Fai claimed) and it wasn't much longer before Fai had him securely pinned.

"What a wonderful position this is!" Fai noted, swapping his usual brainless grin for a lecherous leer.

"Is there any point in asking you nicely to let me up now that I've run out of curses?" Kurogane groused. "Or are you going to stay like this until the kid gets brave enough to come back and kick you off?"

"Don't blame me," Fai said, his words far more innocent than his kisses when Kurogane finally let him use his mouth for something other than speech, "blame the flowers."

 

End.


End file.
